***[1]
The nests always were a different beast compared to the backstreets.
In every quantifiable metric, they were an undeniable upgrade, even the lowest of low end salaries for a nest resident would clock in at almost 5 times the amount you'd get payed for doing essentialy the same thing in the backstreets, the place actually had law and order too, mostly the bluecoat goodie twoshoes of the Zwei holding it up...sure it could be a bit shaken by the ocassional distortion incident, but it still sounds way nicer then whatever the hellscape the average rat finds themselves in.
The corporate overlords above us always had their favorites i guess....and in this particular context, it was the act of being born in their safe heaven that granted you that favoritism.
But still, even with all the resources that the wings had at their disposal, they couldn't cover all the bases....wether it be security or just general convenience.
So of course, fixers were needed, of various associations, to upkeep the law, to deliver your goods, to make sure your contracts are carried out, to ensure no lunatic gets his hands on any weapons or tools that he shouldn't.
But out of all of those associations, there has never been not a single one, that has ever, since the very inception of fixers and associations from an age forgotten so long ago, or that will ever, stand as tall.
As the Hana.
A massive building resided in the middle of one of X-Corp's most prolific mining districts, stretching so high upwards into the endless curtain that the top of that building pierced the very clouds that obscured the night sky, the earpiercing noises of the quarry below dissipated long before they could reach the top floors of that behemoth.
Those impeccable marble walls too, a marvelous masterwork of craftsmanship that could instill atleast a smidge of awe in even the most hardened of fixers.
None of the associations could do their work without the Hana's approval, the liscence and grade of every fixer, the threat of any hazard, the title of any color.
We're all decided by them.
A man in a long white coat, his face youthful, hair light green and slicked back, bearing the emblem of the four trigrams, the black and white scabbard of a Hwando bouncing up and down on his hip, was currently making his way trough that building.
A stack of papers was cradled in his chest, his footsteps echoing against the marbled floor as he walked towards the nearest elevator.
The walk was relatively peaceful, just him and the pristine pillar adorned interior of the association's headquarters.
Until an overly cheery voice piped up from behind
''YOOOOOOHOOOOOO! SEO-JUN!!!!!!''
He suddenly felt a very strong chop against his back, causing him to stumble forward slightly and drop most of the papers he was holding, which slowly fluttered onto the ground, scattering all over the place.
''GAH-HEY, WHAT GIVES!'' The man spun around, clearly angered, only to see a black haired woman with glasses looking at him...puzzled, like she didn't just hit him for no reason.
He was expecting a member of the Hana, it was the association headquarters after all, but the woman standing before him wore attire that was the complete opposite of that, a dark green jacket adorned with golden accents with a brown vest underneath.'
''OOOOOOOOOH, Ooopsieee! Got a little carried away there! Thought you were someone else, my mistake!'' The woman ''apologized'' whilst making overexaggerated motions with her hands.
''...WHAT DO YOU MEAN ''OOPSIEEE!'' YOU CAN'T JUST HIT PEOPLE FOR NO REASON, WHO ARE YOU ANYWAY!?''
''Hm? What do you mean you don't know who i am; You uh...new around here or something...''
''I-'' The man lunged forwards, hand raised before he just...stopped.
''Am, actually, It's my first day here....''
''Well why didn't you say so then!'' The woman raised her arms in surrender.
''Because you introduced yourself by physically assaulting me...?''
''Ah cmon! You seriously care about a silly thing like that, it was just a prank!'' She stood on her tiptoes to peer over his shoulder ''And what's with all the documents, they're putting you trough the ringer on day one huh~?''
''Sigh, please this isn't even close to what the Association director has to deal with.''
''Pft-Is lil o'l Hyeon seriously still stuck in paperwork hell?''
The man blinked twice in utter confusion
''....Still? You mean this has been going on for a while....?''
''Yuuuuuuup~ Theres been an influx of baloney cases regarding thousands of potential Urban Myths that the Hana Asociation's gotta sort trough, and since this is only section 4, the burden falls onto him!''
''I-....Guess that makes sense....?''
''But...that still doesn't answer the question as to why you confused me for mister Seo-jun....and who even are you anyway?''
''Well he DIDsay he was planning on dyeing his hair green to see how it looked'' The woman crouched down to begin picking up and stacking the papers that had been previously scattered. ''Guess you two just had a simmilar build'' She stood up once she was finished, handing the newly neatly stacked papers to the man. ''Im Iris by the way!''
''Oh, uh..thanks!'' He cradled the papers to his chest again. ''And uh, nice to meet you i guess, my name's Ishamon.'' He reached his hand, which the woman promptly met with a handshake.
''...Now uhm...'' He tugged at his collar sheepishly ''You seem to know alot of people here...right...?''
''Spot on!''
''Could you um....tell me where mister Dong-Hyeon's office is....i...kinda don't know...''
''Seriously~? You know you could've just asked the receptionist right~?'' The woman had slowly begun walking backwards as she said this.
''I.....''
The man looked away.
''Didn't...know this place had a receptionist.''
''...''
''PFT-''
''HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA''
''YOU'RE JOKING RIGHT!? DID YOU BECOME A FIXER YESTERDAY OR SOMETHING!?''
''....Yes ~_~''
''Oh.''
''Why didn't you say so dummy!''
''Why do you keep asking that when its obvious you're at fault for why i didn't. -_-''
''Mhmm....'' The woman brought a finger to her lips.
''Fair enough!''
''Alright then! Follow me, i'l show you where the city's greatest caffeine addict's cave is!'' She waved over her shoulder and turned around to lead the way.
''You really shouldn't talk about the director like that yknow....i heard he's really scary....'' The man kept up with her in a steady, albeit slightly nervous stride.
''Oh that's all rumors!'' The woman waved a hand infront of her face dissmisively ''He gets this reputation for being a big scary fixer but he's as dangerous as a teddy bear once you get to know him''
''Still though...'' She leaned to the side, lips pursed together, eyes in a squint ''First day as a fixer and you're already a member of the Hana huh....''
''Someone's an overachiever it seems~''
''Ah cmon!'' He scratched at the back of his head. ''Im not that great.''
''Yup! You aren't-''
''Haha, yea- Wait what do you mean im not?''
''You didn't know this place had a receptionist, you're a moron~''
''That's-''
''Harsh, i know :D!''
''...''
''I don't think i like you.''
''Eh'' She shrugged ''Im used to that, nobody really likes me for who i am, just for the work i do.''
''Better be some good fuckin' work...'' He muttered under his breath, something which the woman obviously heard with how her smirk got a little wider, but chose not to respond to.
''So uhm, what kind of work do you do....''
''Well...given that by my uniform that should be prettyyyy obvious, i'l ask you a better question, how are you a fixer employed by the Hana Asociation when you don't know this place has a receptionist, you know you literaly have to go trough one of those to even get your liscence right?''
''Ah, well....its kind of personal but....''
''Well its mostly cause my parents did all of that for me, im a bit of a sheltered child you know.....im not even from this wing...my parents are pretty influential in Q corp so they decided to send me here...''
''Uh, if you're so rich and got such nice parents why do you even wanna be a fixer....that's kinda stupid.''
''I-IT'S NOT! BEING A FIXER IS COOL. IM PERFECTLY RATIONAL IN WANTING TO BE ONE.''
''E-even if my parents sent me all the way across the city so that if i made enemies i wouldn't have to deal with them once i came home ~_~''
''....''
The woman's gaze turned blank, even as that constant smile remained plastered across her face.
''Yeah, being a fixer is cool..'' She said almost somberly, turning to stare at the floor, her shoulders slumped slightly.
''Uh- Miss Iris did i...say something wrong....?''
''Oh, no! Nothiiiiiin at all~. Trust me it takes a little more then that to get little o'l me to remember all those dumb mistakes she made in the past!''
''Uh...dumb...mistakes?-''
''Wait that reminds me you still haven't told me what kind of work you do!''
The pair had reached the main elevator by this point, which was just as opulent and grand as the rest of this infuriatingly pretty place, Ishamon had already proceeded into it, deciding to lean against a corner while waiting for an answer, while Iris tapped the button to send both of them to the top floor.
''Information gathering, i get not peeping the fit but not noticing the badge reallyy isn't doing you favors when it comes to beating the stupidity allegations~''
''I-....wait you're a member of the Seven Association?''
''Member?''
She blinked twice.
''Im the director.''
''....DIRECTOR!??!?!''
''Yup, West Section 1''
''OF THE HIGHEST SECTION TOO!?!??!?''
''I-A-WHA-HU-''
Ishamon stumbled over his words before deciding that the next best course of action was to start kneeling before the woman like she was some kind of goddess.
''MY SINCEREST APOLOGIES, I HAD NO IDEA I WAS SPEAKING SO RUDELY TO SOMEONE OF SUCH HIGH RAN-''
''It's fine, dude.''
''A-UHM, YES MA'AM!''
He shot upright, his face almost as red as a tomato, why? Neither he or the woman could tell.
And thus, the elevator proceeded upwards, complete silence filling it as neither party spoke a word, the man from a clear state of embarassment, and the woman from...who knows actually.
Atleast the view was nice, the elevator had a large array of windows one could use to peer into the city below, all those city lights appearing as nothing more then a million tiny dots.
''...''
An awkward tension continued in the elevator as the woman smooshed her face against the panel, staring down at the city intently.
''It's beatiful isn't it.''
''IT-S-SURE IS MA'A-''
''Don't call me ma'am, im not old.''
''IT SURE IS MISS!''
''Don't call me miss eith- sigh, good enough i guess''
''Yknow you really need to grow a backbone.'' Her cheerful tone was already gone, becoming dull and bored ''Association directors aren't that special, we're still humans, just slightly above the rest is all.''
''SLIGHTLY!??!? BUT ASSOCIATION DIRECTORS ARE THE CREAM OF THE CROP WHEN IT COMES TO FIXERS! SOME OF THE DIRECTORS FROM THE HIGHER SECTIONS ARE EVEN ONPAR WITH COLORS!''
''As much as i adore the flattery we really aren't that great.'' Inspite of ''adoring the flattery'' she was rolling her eyes, which the man could clearly see trough the reflection in the glass.
''Ah-well....if you say so i.....guess....''
Neither of them spoke for a good few moments.
''Haah~ This became a real downer didn't it.''
Once again, the comment did nothing to provoke much further conversation, and soon enough, the elevator had reached the top floor, the doors sliding open to reveal an even more opulent and grand hallway stretching out before them.
''R-Right well, i suppose we should get going now-''
''Nah, give me the papers, il deliver them myself.''
''O-O-Oh...okay...''
Ishamon placed the papers in her hands, met with a ''Thanks.'' and the slowly fading form of the woman as she dissapeared down the corridor, he could only wave awkwardly, before quickly calling the elevator back down to the bottom floor, for he still had more work to do.
As for Iris, she'd reached the end of the corridor, which lead to a circular shaped room with a desk in the middle,a quail and some ink along with 2 fancy looking white stamps with red bottoms resting atop it, massive towers of paperwork surrounding that very desk.
And at that desk, sat a very, very tired looking association director, stamping away at the thousands of sheats of paper without even looking at them, all as his head was laying against the desk like he was half dead.
''Nice to see that you're in good health.''
''W-A-HU-AH IM DOING MY JOB MISTER-''
''Oh it's just you....''
''Are you seriously still scared that he'l catch you like this, it's been a year~''
''DON'T MAKE FUN OF A MAN'S TRAUMA!'' He slammed the stamp down onto the next paper with much more force then neccecary, rattling the desk.
''Oh how traumatic it must've been to get caught being a lazy bum at work! Do you want mommy to take even more of the workload then she already has~?''
''The mommy jokes aren't funny ~_~''
''To you! But unfortunately im the target audience of all my jokes!''
''That's called a mental illness.''
''I know.''
The two stared at eachother blankly.
''Pft-''
''Tch-''
''You know for all your talk of ''taking the workload'' it's a pretty low move to make what's essentially a paid intern do your work.'' He pointed at the stack of papers held in her hands.
''Oh! Insulting your only saving grace!? Has the countless hours of using that ''Solved'' stamp on bogus Urban myths drained your sanity to such a degree!?''
''....''
''You're funny~!''
A vein was popping on his forehead....
''Now hand over the actual cases.''
The woman smirked in triumph, before placing the massive stack of papers (which in comparison to the other stacks was miniscule) atop the desk.
With an audible sigh of annoyance, the man took the first paper, slamming it down onto the table as his eyes raked over the words written onto it, the actual non bogus cases we're always far more annoying then the endless stamping.
''So what brand is your microwave.''
''Is that your attempt at small talk~?''
''Sigh'' A brief pause in his response as he stamped down onto the paper, shoving it aside before grabbing another one ''Yes.''
''Its X-corp brand, duh~''
''I know.''
''Now do you mind telling me the actual reason you came here.''
''Oh but why! It's so much more fun to tease you!''
''Becaues monotony is the silent killer of workplace happiness, i'd rather be fighting the Red Mist then doing this.''
''Oh so you want a big strong woman to dominate you~?''
STAMP ''Not what i meant.''
''Mhm, that's what they all say.''
''...''
''Alright alright il bite! But only to make my precious wittle Hyeon happier~'' The woman leaned forwards to scratch the underside of his chin, which, even though his tired face and deadpan stare should've implied otherwise, was something she knew damn well he enjoyed.
Her finger moved to trail across the massive stack of papers, even as they were continuously being sorted, just because these papers we're ones that actually had reading them be a requirement to understand the hazards they described, that didn't mean they had any actual interesting information on them.
It was mostly just solved cases that we're to be marked as disposed of.
Well, mostly.
''Aha! Here it is!''
The woman parted the massive stack, taking out a single sheet of paper from the middle of it, placing it down onto the desk, which the man eyed varily.
''...The'' He leaned down to squint at it ''Nosferatu....?''
''Yup, that's the name!''
''And what, pray tell, is so special about this Urban Myth.''
''It wiped out the entire Kurokumo Clan!''
''....Cool,how is that impressive exactly...?''
''Sigh, so stubborn''
The woman reached into her bag, poking and prodding with her tounge sticking out slightly, before ''Ah!'' pulling out a photo and laying it on the table.
The photo was of said massacre, but it wasn't the quantity of bodies that was the suprising part, it was the weapons embedded into them.
The man brought the picture up to his eyes to inspect more closely.
''....Hardblood.....''
''Didn't the Marrow Huntsman eradicate the Byron family?''
''He was supposed to have.''
''Sigh, which means one of them managed to survive, and is not very keen on staying quiet.''
''And the one that's survived has most likely ascended to a first kindred by the looks of things, not that i'd expect you to know that of course'' The woman added.
''...''
''Did you seriously consult the fanghunt before coming here so you could belittle my intelligence about bloodfiend related matters?''
''WHAAAAAAAA-I WOULD NEVEEEEEEEEEER-''[2]
''Mhm...''
''Even as strong as a family of bloodfiends are, if the Byron family has repropegated itselfo once more, for the time being i still can't give this case any higher of a ranking the urban legend for now.''
''Unless you have evidence that suggests they are currently heading directly for the border of the X-Corp backstreets to begin a slaughter like last time?''
''Mhm....''
The woman shrugged.
''Nope, nothing like that! But come on, you gotta admit it's interesting! They're like cockroaches, you just can't put em down for good~! And all that violence, look at how bruttaly dismembered they all were! Cmooon! It's a LIIIIITLE interesting don't you think!?''
The man...just sighed, long, and annoyed, hes dealt with this far too many times.
''You're right i suppose....''
The stamp of approval was finnaly brought down, last used god knows when.
''Send this down to the receptionist.''
''Will do~''
And thus, the woman skipped off merrily, a sight that did bring some semblance of joy onto the director's face.
He picked up the paper again, inspecting it.
''...Interesting...''
He smirked.
''I suppose it is....'' He tossed it aside.
''I wonder what kind of hideous, cold blooded monster the bloodfiend that could've caused such violence must be....''
[1] Kindly play "Serious - Library of Ruina OST" For Optimal Reading Experience
[2] She would*